Foreign trade grows by 13.5% to Rs. 1,480 billion

Kathmandu, Mar. 23: Nepal's foreign trade witnessed significant growth during the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

According to the trade statistics based on first eight months published by the Department of Customs on Sunday, foreign trade surged by 13.55 per cent to Rs. 1,480.36 billion during the eight months from mid-July 2025 to mid-March 2026.

During the review period, exports increased by 20.83 per cent.

Goods worth Rs. 191.11 billion were exported in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, compared to Rs. 158.17 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year.

Slower growth of exports

While the figures indicate a healthy overall expansion in exports, the pace of growth began to slow after a strong start, signalling a gradual loss of momentum in recent months.

Exports surged by an impressive 95 per cent in the first month of the fiscal year, followed by 88 per cent over the first two months. 

The export growth rate remained robust at 89 per cent during the first three months but moderated to 77.51 per cent in the first four months and further declined to 58.17 per cent over the first five months, reflecting a steady decline.

Similarly, exports increased by 43.76 per cent in the first six months and 32.19 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year.

Exports shrank in the month of Falgun due to the election of the House of Representatives held on March 5, 2026. Goods worth only Rs. 23 billion were exported in the month of Falgun.

Although the export growth rate has declined, if exports continue at the current pace, Nepal's exports could reach a record high by the end of the fiscal year.

The country had recorded its highest export value of Rs. 277.03 billion in the last fiscal year 2024/25.

Along with exports, imports also increased by 12.54 per cent to Rs. 1,289.25 billion during the review period. In the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, the country had imported goods worth Rs. 1,145.56 billion.

Goods worth only Rs. 165.77 billion were imported in the month of Falgun this year.

Due to the lower volume of exports compared to imports, the country’s trade deficit surged by 11.22 per cent to Rs. 1,098.13 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. 

The trade deficit stood at Rs. 987.39 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year. With the significant growth in exports, the export-to-import ratio has decreased by 6.85 per cent during the review period. 

The export-to-import ratio currently stands at 1:6.75, compared to 1:7.24 in the same period last fiscal year. The share of export in the total foreign trade is only 12.91 per cent while that of import is 87.09 per cent. 

The share of export in total foreign trade grew by 6.41 per cent while the share of import dropped by 0.88 per cent during the review period.

Soybean oil dominates exports

The growth in exports was largely driven by higher shipments of soybean oil, palm oil, carpets, garments, tea, and coffee.

The country exported soybean oil worth Rs. 75.77 billion during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. Soybean oil alone accounts for almost 40 per cent of total exports during the period. 

Soybean oil worth only Rs. 47.94 billion was exported during the first eight months of the last fiscal year 2024/25.

Similarly, sunflower oil worth Rs. 6.20 billion and palm oil worth Rs. 4.90 billion were exported during the review period.

Other major export items, included carpets worth Rs. 7.2 billion, yarn worth Rs. 8.9 billion, tea and coffee worth Rs. 2.70 billion, cardamom worth Rs. 9.49 billion, and dog chews worth Rs. 2.65 billion.

On the import side, petroleum products worth Rs. 177 billion were imported during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. 

This includes diesel worth Rs. 82.10 billion, petrol worth Rs. 43.89 billion, aviation fuel worth Rs. 13.33 billion, kerosene worth Rs. 471 million, and liquefied petroleum gas worth Rs. 37.31 billion.

Nepal also imported significant volumes of edible oil raw materials, including crude soybean oil.

The country also imported crude soybean oil worth Rs. 81.18 billion, crude palm oil worth Rs. 8.5 billion, and sunflower oil worth Rs. 12 billion during the review period.

Likewise, food imports also remained substantial, with paddy and rice imports totaling Rs. 28.29 billion and maize imports reaching Rs. 9.23 billion during the review period.